Across the nation, student loan debt is growing as more borrowers fall into delinquency and default — including thousands of Connecticut residents. According to data released by the U.S. Department of Education, in the first quarter of the 2026 federal fiscal year, 7.7 million federal loan borrowers were in default on loans. In Connecticut, 68,000 federal loan borrowers were in default, owing a total of $1.6 billion. While Connecticut ranked 35th for defaulted outstanding dollars, the state has the 19th-most borrowers who have fallen extremely behind on payments. On average, these 68,000 residents owe $23,059. Student debt has increased steadily for decades. Along with the millions of residents who have defaulted on their loans, an additional 18.9 million haven’t made payments in more than 30 days. Different colleges in Connecticut have vastly different default rates. Data as of February 2026 found that Yale had the lowest nonpayment rate at 3%, while some proprietary institutions saw rates nearing 50%. Nonpayment rate refers to students who are more than 90 days behind on their payments. Once a borrower is more than 90 days behind on payments, the delinquency is reported to the national credit bureaus. This can hurt a borrower’s credit score, making it harder to get housing or car loans or get approved to rent an apartment. Early delinquency has increased nationally, most notably for student loan borrowers. These numbers could worsen in Connecticut and across the nation. Former President Joe Biden’s SAVE plan, or Saving on a Valuable Education plan, which allowed borrowers to subscribe to generous terms and low monthly payments, was killed last week after a judge ruled against the program. This could force millions of people nationally into delinquency. Federally owned student debt, which makes up over 90% of all student debt, has been climbing for decades. ...read more read less